By Sydney Fazio
The Maryland Terrapins hosted the Northwestern Wildcats at an underwhelming Xfinity Center on Saturday with redemption in mind.
At least that is how it started.
The Terrapins dominated the Wildcats, winning 73-57.
Maryland came out explosively, winning the tip-off and getting sophomore guard Anthony Cowan possession to make his first 3-point basket in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, the quiet, underwhelming crowd in Xfinity Center seemed to have tripled, and they were booming with applause.
Within the first five minutes of the first half, sophomore guard Kevin Huerter had three 3-pointers.
The Terrapins shot an impressive 50 percent from three and 52 percent from the field in the first half, with all of their free throws made. The Maryland defense suffocated the Wildcats, holding them to 35.5 percent from the field in the first half.
Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said he was happy to see his team keep up the momentum after the first half.
“So, let’s think about our last two home games. We were up 13 and gave that up in about five minutes to Michigan State, then we were up 10 against Wisconsin and gave that up,” Turgeon said. “That was a good sign for me that our guys didn’t lose their focus at halftime.”
The last meeting between the two schools was in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament last year. The 72-64 loss stung for the Terrapins, especially considering the tournament was located right in their backyard, Washington.
Both teams are in the mid-tier of the conference; fighting to climb the standings before postseason play.
Redshirt junior guard Dion Wiley had a breakthrough game in the midst of what seemed to be a quiet season for him. With 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, Wiley believes this was the best game he’s played this season.
“This morning I went into the game just thinking to rebound and defend, and I think it carried over to the offense,” Wiley said.
The Terps kept up the pace in the second half, shooting 53 percent from the field, and maintaining the lead for the duration. Four Terps finished in double digits, Huerter leading the way with 22 points.
Huerter said despite the confidence boost, the team can’t get too high, since they will re-match the Wildcats again in about a week.
“We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves, we’ve got a lot to go, but it just finally feels good that when we played well for the whole game we got a pretty easy victory in the end,” Huerter said.
The Terrapins are hoping to get a crucial road game win against Nebraska on Tuesday to improve their chances for a NCAA Tournament bid.